This is Jonathan in his new school uniform, ready for school.
Jonathan is 13, attending Stanley High School, year 9

The expression on his face
about says it all. But he sure looked good in his "Marks and Sparks"
blazer. There was much "I won't wear that" and similar statements but
after the first day of school his comment was somthing to the effect of 'its not bad'.
THAT is good enough for us! he is of course not yet into the full swing
of accedemics, but one day at a time will do just fine. If you compare this photo with
Lien's you can see that Jon has grown, must be the rain !!, and is nearly a head taller
than Lien right now.

This is Lien in her new school uniform, ready for
school. Lien is just 11, and is attending Moels Cop High School which just happens
to be the High School that her Dad attended a few years back. As many of you
know our little Lien's middle name is "Sarah Bernhardt" which says it all of
course. Well, on her first day of school she was so quiet I had to look to see if
she was still breathing at times. It was stark terror we are sure: new school and
nearly 200 brand new year 7 youngsters in full uniform and none of them even knew who she
was. But of course all that changed by the end of day One...and she has now even
taken public transport to and fro on her own. Well, there was a phone call from her
that she had missed the bus, but we sent her scurrying back to the bus stop and the next
bus of course did arrive and so did she, safely home.

This is Caroline in her new school uniform, ready for school.
Caroline is also 11. Attending Presfield School, a school for children with mild
learning disabilities, year 7. Caroline had the advantage of a pre-school-start tour
and though the thought of High School had her on edge she actually came home on day two
looking forward to the start of homework the following week. Now that it has begun I
think she might be a bit sorry she said that, spelling is after all, still spelling!
But she is very enthusiastic about her new school and I am sure she will do just
fine. How can she miss with a total of 7 pupils in her homeroom class?

This
means that at least for now, all of our children are in High School....makes us feel a
little older but of course in their eyes not much wiser!!